Facebook is slammed with updates from friends and family anticipating the end of this election season. Dude, ME TOO. Chuck and I voted last week in a half-attempt to hurry this business along, and our timing was cool since it allowed us to walk past Pat Summitt in the courthouse breezeway. Wow, is she tall.
Voting (and politics) continue to be a huge frustration for me. If you’d asked me ten years ago where I stood on a handful of issues, I probably would’ve regurgitated a lopsided viewpoint acquired from someone else either in my immediate circle of influence or from someone in the media. As a young 20-something, I had few original thoughts of my own. (But that’s not altogether unusual, is it? For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should be able to vote until you’ve acquired a mortgage and paid for your own health insurance. I’m just sayin’…)
Now, in the smack-dab middle of my 30s, I’ve strayed away from the black-and-white beliefs I once held and have found myself wandering around in the gray as it pertains to the purpose and responsibilities of our almighty government. Trust me, I’m feeling as lukewarm as I sound, but it isn’t due to lack of interest or lack of knowledge. I guess you could say this evolution is the result of both my own experiences and watching the experiences of others. It’s also the result of good common sense.
(Is it cruel to use this cartoon considering yesterday?)
I used to be more passionate about politics but now I’m too disenchanted. I don’t want to hear it – from either of them – because neither candidate nor major political party represents me anymore, and frankly, I don’t think they even represent themselves. There is no depth, no heart, and no real meat to their meal. I don’t want to play anymore.
People often correlate sitting on the fence with someone who’s wishy washy or perhaps uneducated, but I don’t see it that way at all. Dare I say we fence-sitters are our own party, not willing to go as far left or as far right as others? Maybe it isn’t the fence at all but rather a new common ground. Instead of crossing the aisle, I’m just going to sit down in the middle of it.
I think this is the most honest I’ve ever been (openly) about what I truly believe. It’s just unfortunate that my vote, while cast, seems disingenuous.
Now I’m just rambling and it’s time to move on. No matter who wins, it won’t be the one I wanted. Happily, I won’t be home tonight so there won’t even be a temptation to watch the returns. I have a dinner date with Amy, and I know her good company and great humor will be the most fabulous distraction.
wow, I love how you express yourself! I’m 60 TODAY. I’m looking forward to a gift given to me by my fellow Americans.
Thank you, Roxanna, and Happy Birthday to you!
Well said, dearheart! Enjoy dinner with Amy! Hugs all around!
I won’t comment now because it’s past 1 am but I’ll quote my friend here: “Obama IS a conservative. The Republican Party is beyond conservatism. It is the party of reactionary populists.
American politics exists in a spectrum where there is a bugfuck crazy far right party, an incompetent and corrupt center right party, and an occasional boogeyman known as “the left,” existing only in academia and the blogosphere, which is routinely dismissed as “communism” and told to “move to Europe.”
Or, to use a more respectable quote (by Noam Chomsky): “They (republicans and democrats) are two factions of the same party. We have a one-party state with two somewhat different factions with a lot of overlap; the business party has a couple of factions. You find some difference between them. I wouldn’t say there’s no difference on the average. So what should you do in that case? Well, like everything, it’s your own choice. Do you want to live in a democratic society or do you want to live in the society we have, which remember is not a democratic society and is not intended to be. If you take a course in political theory here, I’m sure they’ll teach you that the United States is not a democracy. It’s what is called, in the technical literature, a polyarchy. That’s the term invented by the leading democratic theorist, Yale professor Robert Dahl, but the idea is old, its goes way back to James Madison and the foundation of the Constitution. A polyarchy is system in which power resides in the hands of those who manage the wealth of the nation, the responsible class of men. And the rest of the population is fragmented, distracted, allowed to participate every couple years—they’re allowed to come and say “yes, thank you, why don’t you continue for another four years.” They have a little choice among the responsible men, the wealth of the nation. That’s the way the country was founded. It was founded on the principle explained by Madison at the Constitutional Convention that the primary goal of government is to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. And then the Constitution was designed to sort of ensure that. There’s been a lot struggle about it over the years, a lot of victories have been won by the public, so it’s not the same as it was two centuries ago. But that remains. That remains the elite ideal. And it’s a constant struggle. And most of the population is well aware of it.”
The theory of our country being a polyarchy is very interesting. I can definitely see how this concept would better reflect our current system. It’s given me food for thought. Thank you!